VA BIRDers,
Before describing today's events that were mainly in Prince William Co, let
me wrap up a few unreported items that may be of interest.
DC Cormorant, ca. 500 Belmont Bay 4/14
Tundra Swan, 1 @ Hunting Cr mudflats (river side) 4/12
Gadwall, 1 @ Dyke Marsh 4/11
Gadwall, 2 @ Belmont Bay 4/14
Blue-winged Teal, 2 @ Neabsco Cr 4/13
Green-winged Teal, 33 @ Dyke Marsh 4/11
Green-winged Teal, 40 @ Neabsco Cr 4/13
Ring-necked Duck, 2 @ Dyke Marsh 4/11
Lesser Scaup, 30 @ Belmont Bay 4/14
Bufflehead, 2 @ Belmont Bay 4/14
Hooded Merganser, 2 @ Neabsco Cr 4/13
Red-breasted Merganser, 30 @ Dyke Marsh 4/11
Ruddy Duck, 750 @ Belmont Bay 4/14
Osprey - many "new" nests noted everywhere, these birds are having a banner
year!
Broad-winged Hawk, 1 @ Lorton 4/13
Greater Yellowlegs, 6 @ Dyke Marsh 4/11
Greater Yellowlegs, 23 @ Neabsco Cr 4/13
Lesser Yellowlegs, 1 @ Huntley Meadows 4/12
Dunlin, 3 @ Dyke Marsh 4/11 (river side mudflats of Hunting Cr)
Common Snipe, 4 @ Huntley Meadows 4/12
Bonaparte's Gull, 1 @ Dyke Marsh 4/11
Bonaparte's Gull, 4 @ Belmont Bay 4/14
Boneparte's Gull, ca. 300 @ Gunston Cove 4/14
Caspian Tern, 55 @ Dyke Marsh 4/11
Great Horned Owl, 1 @ Dyke Marsh between hike/bike bridge and condos 4/13
Red-headed Woodpecker, 1 @ Julie Metz 4/13
White-eyed Vireo, 1 @ Julie Metz 4/13
House Wren, 1 @ Backyard (nr Huntley Meadows) 4/13
Winter Wren, 1 @ Dyke Marsh 4/11
Gray Catbird, 1 along Neabsco Marina Rd nr power line cut 4/13
No. Parula, 1 @ Dyke Marsh 4/11
LA Waterthrush, 1 @ Dyke Marsh 4/11 (not a breeder here)
Swamp Sparrow, 28 @ Huntley Meadows 4/12 (outnumbered Song Sp 3:1)
Rusty Blackbird, 16 @ Huntley Meadows 4/12
Rusty Blackbird, 4+ @ Julie Metz 4/13&14
Motivated in part by Marc Ribaudo's good morning yesterday as well as my
interest in learning more about Whip-poor-will migration, I started out at
Marine Corps Base Quantico about 0515 driving down MCB-8 (which is off 646 -
Aden Rd[?] - near Independent Hill [619 and 234]). Having the road nearly to
myself until about 0600, my first few stops were all postive for Whips. I
contined on nearly until 611. There is a power line crossing and a gated
southbound road (Tokyo Rd) which was very busy with Whips even as the sun
broke the horizon. This is a pleasant spot to begin the morning with a
single Ovenbird doing its complex song and many PIne Warblers, Brown
Thrashers, Field Sparrows and Barred Owls singing out. I reversed course and
stopped at a bridge over a small creek. Here, LA Waterthrush began its day
along with a few other neighborhood residents and migrating White-throated
Sparrows and Juncos. The Whip tally was 11 singers.
I then drove to Possum Point Rd, which is along Quantico Bay. The road ends
at the Dominion Power Plant and another road, Cockpit Rd, goes north bound
paralleling the Potomac. For simplicity, I will henceforth refer to this
whole area as Possum Point. I birded along the road from about 0645 to 0930
and met a few nice bunches of migrants. Nearly a half dozen White-eyed
Vireos, a single Red-eyed Vireo, a single Golden-crowned Kinglet, several
Ruby-crowned Kinglets, and a good density of No. Parulas, Yellow-rumpeds,
Yellow-throated, and Black & White Warblers (the latter are probable breeders
on Cockpit Rd). A few Pine and Prairie Warblers, LA Waterthrush, and Common
Yellowthroats rounded out the neo-trops. Other notables were Wild Turkey,
singing Hermit Thrush, many Chipping Sparrows, and a singing Purple Finch.
I moved onto Leeslyvania and birded mainly the car top boat launch area which
yielded more No. Parulas, Yellow-rumps, Yellow-throated, Pine and Black &
White Warblers. Near the thin section of woods behind the big parking lot, a
single Blue-headed Vireo called. Palm Warblers were added to the day's total
at the parking lot near the visitor center. Two separate pairs of Brown
Thrasher, dozens of White-throated Sparrows and a few Juncos were also noted.
Afterwards, I drove to Mason Neck SP. I drove the park entrance road (about
3 miles long) at about 1 pm and noted many No. Parulas along this stretch -
16. Blackpoll was also found. I added a few more No. Parulas along Belmont
Bay.
Afternoon attempts at hawks yesterday and today yielded mixed results. Most
of the usual species were noted, many obviously migrating. The nearly 2.5
hours scanning the sky after lunch yielded:
Osprey 4
Bald Eagle 1 (imm, prob. 2nd summer)
Sharp-shinned Hawk 4
Cooper's Hawk 2
Broad-winged Hawk 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 4
Am Kestrel 3
I always noted many - probably dozens - of swallows as I scanned the sky.
I ended this day recording 11 species of warblers. Of those, 33 No. Parulas
were tallied - clearly a big push occurred recently! I also tallied 11
Yellow-throateds, 5 Prairies, 11 Black & Whites and 5 LA Waterthrush for the
day. Three vireo species with White-eyed the hands-down most abundant at
this point. On the kinglet side, only one GC Kinglet but at least 15 RC
Kinglets. Dozens of Blue-gray Gnatcatchers were heard and seen at all
locations. And Chipping Sparrows were conspicuous in nearly all locations.
Kurt Gaskill
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